Study urges shift in nutrition policy beyond health sector

Nutrition across much of Africa continues to be treated primarily as a health sector concern.

Although health ministries are officially responsible for nutrition policy, key factors that shape diets, such as food prices, trade, and agricultural production, are controlled by finance, trade, industry and agriculture ministries.

In effect, these institutions govern the food system, yet nutrition is rarely mainstreamed within their policy frameworks.

Dietary patterns in sub-Saharan Africa are changing, with rising consumption of processed foods high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, and declining intake of traditional grains, pulses, fruits and vegetables.

Against this backdrop, researchers including Prof. Robert Aidoo of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources examined the political economy of food systems and food system governance in Ghana and South Africa.

The study, published in the journal, Public Health Nutrition, engaged actors across the value chain for both healthy and unhealthy foods.

 In Ghana, 121 value chain actors participated, compared to 72 in South Africa. The research also involved 28 policy stakeholders in Ghana and 48 in South Africa, drawn from government, academia, civil society and the private sector.

The findings indicate that while nutrition is officially recognised as a policy priority in both countries, responsibility remains concentrated within the health sector, with limited integration into key food system sectors such as agriculture, trade and industry.

The study therefore calls for a reconceptualisation of nutrition policy outside the health domain, embedding it within broader food system governance structures.

 It also highlights the need for stronger policy attention to urban development, particularly in strengthening urban–rural linkages and addressing the role of the informal food system in shaping dietary outcomes.